Saturday, 16 September 2017

I found the CSI #238 challenge particularly challenging this time. Especially as when I read the Sept prompts and saw "7. the last thing I felt guilty about" which was so recent and topical for me, then I couldn't think of anything else for the page.

So I added black to the palette to give that balance of light and dark and then pushed together anything that 'felt right' from there. I'm hoping the page still has a sense of once upon a time... about it even though its not fairytale or book related.

The text reads : "The last time I felt guilty was just last Friday when I
found out that a friend from work had finally died from cancer after a very long
illness. I felt guilty for being happy that week - happy that I had won
something that I had worked really hard for and was proud of. I questioned
myself for being happy when someone I knew and had history with died that week
and now I felt both sad and happy side by side. I got some grief counselling and
then I discovered you can be both happy and sad at the same time for different
reasons and that’s ok."

Sunday, 10 September 2017

My August had been a series of serious fitness training, in some cases I did 9 sessions a week to try and get 20 session in 27 days (though I was secretly going for 27 sessions in 27 days). It alot of organisation and effort, but I did make this goal, and won my fitness group's challenge. When I was presented with the prize, I just felt so emotional and proud. I'd never really won anything which involved sports or fitness before. It was a totally new and wonderous feeling. So that's what my page is about.

I loved the challenge but couldn't seem to incorporate the yellow with my bee pictures so I used pink and orange instead. I tried to 'fake' kraft coloured card inbehind the photos and put the honeycomb patterned paper over the kraft background.

I have great memories of kraft card because when I started IRL scrapbooking kraft was 'in' and the best thing since sliced bread. So I have lots of practise of creating Kraft pages. The challenge also reminded me of 'my honey story' so that's what I used as my journalling focus.

I spent some time taking these photos of this bee on my succulent flowers and am glad I can use them in this layout.

Thursday, 10 August 2017

I suppose landscapes haven't really been my forte over the years. I preferred animals or flowers, but the further I venture into art in my middle years I have realised how much I really do admire artists who painted only landscapes and how many times I see landscapes and think 'I wish I could paint that'.

In 2015 I painted my first real landscape painting 'Billabong Wonga Wetlands' which is a local area which is rich in bird life - recycled farm land. Because I spend a great deal of time there bird watching and discovered all kinds of rarities there, to me it is a special place, and I find that I can paint better having some kind of connection. Also, this painting was the first I did onsite for a very long time. The Billabong itself is often home to tortoises, carp, Kingfishers, Darters, and various honeyeaters in the trees overhead. The water is a brown colour, but on good days the sky and scenery does reflect down into the waters. Although the painting could have been worked a little more, I really like it as it captured the day I was there so well.

049 'Billabong Wonga Wetlands' 2015 acrylic on canvas

It wasn't until 'Three Brothers' that I felt that each tree has its own personality and connection with the land. This scene, from a photo I took at Tumut, these massive gum trees relatively close together felt like they were related and connected together somehow. I loved their gnarly branches and bark and the colours of the afternoon light. It was hard to paint, and took almost 2 months to complete. Although each tree was different (the one to the right looked like it had even been struck by lightning at one time), at first glance they look similar, its not until I looked more closely that I could see how different they were in shape and experiences.

126 'Three Brothers' 2015 acrylic on canvas

I did this sketch of a misty forest at a Lookout near Pambula, NSW. It reminds me of a painting that plagued my childhood as it was pasted on a door at my primary school - one of Hans Heysen I think, which was probably much faded. One day, I would like to make a proper painting like this that shows that mysterious quality of a thick forest lost in fog. You kind of get the feel for it below.

Sunday, 6 August 2017

I think I've only ever done one baby boy card before and it was mega traditional, so I thought about it for a long time and then came up with this card for the Cardz4Guys challenge. I suppose I channeled what all my friends tell me, wishing baby could arrive well short of those long 9 months.

OK, it is a bit different. But I'm really enjoying giving my take on cards a more creative spin!